Leonberger Dog Pet Portrait in Oil on Canvas

This portrait of a Leonberger named Sam was fun to do because Sam looks like a lot of fun! He has such a happy expression that it makes me smile to look at him.

This is the third portrait in a series of five dogs that I painted for a client who ordered them as gifts. In case you missed the others, number one is here: Whippet dog portrait. And number two: Mixed breed dog portrait.

In the above image you can see the beginning of the portrait. I paint a pale blue background keeping it lighter around his face which will be dark. Then I start painting his fur in sections according to the various colors of fur and planes of his face. Read on to see a very (very!) quick demo of this painting. Click any image to see it larger.

I get so carried away brushing in his beautiful thick fur, that I fail to take many photos. So below, you can see that I've already painted most of the fur. I create brushstrokes with a flat brush in the direction in which his fur grows.

The fur requires more detail after brushing it in roughly. After I refine the fur, I paint eyes, nose and mouth - in this case, I get to paint a big, happy tongue and teeth too!

Below is the finished portrait. Isn't Sam a happy boy? I'm told he loves everyone and everything - it shows!

Leonberger 5x7 dog pet portrait oil painting

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